Under CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft has created some kind of
peace with lots of its long-time competitors, including
Apple, Salesforce, Sony, and VMware. To many, having a
Microsoft executive on stage was a sign that
the days of the Microsoft-Apple rivalry are over.

Alas, it was not to be. Apparently,
the opportunity created in the new world of "detachables," or
laptop/tablet hybrids, is so great that it's bringing
back old grudges. And, in fairness, Apple isn't the only
aggressor here — Microsoft has explicitly said that its new
Surface Book laptop is a direct shot at the MacBook Pro.

Thanks to the prevalence of great cross-platform apps, including
Microsoft Office, it matters less and less if you choose a PC,
Mac, iPhone, Android, or whatever else. When the big tech
companies fight over operating systems and the apps they can run,
it tends to be the consumer who loses.